RALEIGH, NC – The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (8-9, 1-0 CIAA) opened conference play in a big way with a clutch 5-3 win over the Chowan Lady Hawks (5-14, 0-1 CIAA), Friday afternoon at the 2012 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Round-Up at Walnut Creek Park in Raleigh, N.C. With the win, the Lady Rams picked up their first conference win of the season and defeated the Lady Hawks, who won the conference regular season title last year.  

The Lady Rams took the win behind a great overall effort that saw the team notch 10 hits while allowing just three hits to the Lady Hawks in the game. WSSU junior catcher Nikki Lynch led the way for the Lady Rams with a three-for-three effort at the plate with two RBI in the game. Freshman infielder Bria Jones added a two-for-three effort at the plate with a double and two runs scored.

The Lady Rams got their scoring done early with all five runs of the game coming in the first four innings of play. The team opened the game with a second inning run, followed by three third inning runs. The team then capped their effort with a fifth-inning run. Though the Lady Hawks mounted a late rally, scoring one run each in the third, fourth, and fifth inning, the Lady Rams held on to take home the conference victory.  

Junior infielder Britney Cato struck first for the Lady Rams with a second-inning RBI that scored Lynch. However, it was in the third inning that the Lady Rams really took control when freshman Brittany Rich's RBI single was followed by a two-RBI single by Lynch.

With the win, the Lady Rams open conference play with a 1-0 record and avenged their only regular season conference losses from last year. For more information on Lady Rams softball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.